a new way to cut strawberries in a jiffy

Here's a quick and easy way to cut up lots of strawberries in a hurry. First make sure your strawberries are washed and hulled. Then get your handy-dandy egg slicer.

Place the strawberry hull-side down onto the egg slicer...

Push down slowly but firmly. As you push down the strawberry will guide you..

And voila! A perfectly, evenly sliced strawberry!

I was able to cut all these strawberries in about 15 minutes!

Randy's Chocolate Raisin Oatmeal Cookie: A Tribute

Back in October of last year, I stumbled upon a website that featured a video with the title, “Dying 47 year-old Professor Gives Exuberant ‘Last Lecture'”. The premise of a dying professor giving his last and final lecture intrigued me so I decided to check it out. As it started to play I realized the video was over an hour and a half long. I figured I’d watch the first ten or so minutes and move on but I ended up watching the entire thing! What I didn’t expect was to find Randy Pausch so likeable, humble, and funny. I thought I'd see a frail, bitter man but instead I saw someone who looked healthy, with a beaming smile and kind eyes. Within moments of arriving on stage he said, “If I don't seem as depressed or morose as I should be, sorry to disappoint you” and then starting doing push-ups! I was hooked.

Throughout the lecture I learned a lot about Randy’s many great accomplishments and his dreams, but my favorite part was what he called his life lessons. I’ll leave it up to watch the video to hear them all, but my favorite was: Focus on others, not yourself. This one hit close to my heart because I have tried in my life to focus on others too. Part of the reason I bake so much is to show others how much I care and to feel special and appreciated. I really try to make an effort not to be selfish.

After Randy mentions this specific “life lesson” he said he wanted to show a concrete example. This is what he said, verbatium:

“See, yesterday was his wife’s birthday. If there were ever a time I might be entitled to have the focus on me, it might be the ‘Last Lecture’…but no, I feel very badly that my wife didn’t really get a proper birthday and I thought it would be very nice if five hundred people…”

That was when a white sheet cake was wheeled onto the stage; the entire audience starts clapping and sings Happy Birthday in unison. This was the point in the lecture when I started to sob inconsolably. So much in fact that my son burst into my room out of concern that I had somehow injured myself. I was so upset that I couldn’t even speak. It was only after the lecture was over and I calmed down that I could even explain to why I was crying in the first place. It occurred to me as Jai, Randy's wife, was blowing out her lone birthday candle the brevity of what I had just witnessed. Randy had less than a year to live and this was the last birthday she’d have with him. This was his last chance to sing Happy Birthday to her. The very fact that he would remember to take the time to celebrate his wife's birthday said volumes about the type of man Randy was. I get weepy just thinking about it!

From that day on I became very interested in Randy’s story. He had a website that he would update from time to time with snippets of his life with cancer. I cheered when he was doing well and sent warm thoughts his way when he wasn’t. And then the updates stopped and although I think I knew deep down that that wasn’t good news, I had hoped he was doing so well he just forgot to update the site. Then this afternoon, as I sat on my couch to eat my lunch, I heard the news that he had passed away. Even though I had never met Randy, I felt like I lost a dear friend. I sobbed for a good, long time.



Last night, in preparation for “Sugar Shock Friday” – a little thing I do every other Friday for the kids at work - I baked about 10 dozen cookies. These were cookies I had never made before and essentially just invented on a whim. They sat on the table waiting for me to take to work. And so, in the midst of my sniffling and in trying to calm myself down, I decided I would name these cookies after Randy. I would always remember bringing them to work to share on the day that he passed away. I have no idea if he even liked oatmeal, cashews, or dark chocolate covered raisins – but these will always be my way of remembering a man that had such a profound impact on me and so many millions of others around the world. You’re be missed Randy!

My sincerest sympathies go out to Randy’s family. My thoughts are with you all.

Randy’s Oatmeal Cookies

2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup of light brown sugar
3/4 cup of white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unsalted cashews, split in half and/or roughly chopped
1 big box (approximately 8 oz) dark-chocolate covered raisins (if you can’t find them, use the milk chocolate variety)

Using a blender or food processor, blend 1 cup of the oatmeal in a blender until it has a flour-like texture. Combine the floury oatmeal with the whole oats into a medium sized bowl. Add the whole wheat flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Mix together with a fork and set aside.

Cream together the butter and the sugars for about 2 minutes – until pale and very fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well combined. Slowly beat in the bowl of dry ingredients a little at a time (be sure to scrape down the bowl to look for pockets of trapped flour). Add cashews and chocolate covered raisins and mix on very slow speed just until combined or just use a wooden spoon.

Chill the dough at least a half-hour before baking (if you plan on waiting longer, be sure to cover the dough). Keep the dough in the fridge throughout the baking process.

About ten minutes before you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare your cookie sheet either by using a Silpat Mat or parchment paper.

Drop dough using a one-tablespoon cookie scoop 2 inches apart onto the cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or just until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and leave them on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. NOTE: Keep in mind that when you take them out of the oven, the centers will look underdone. The cookies will continue to cook for a few minutes after you remove them from the oven but I can assure you that the centers will cooked. If you wait to take them out of the oven until the centers look done, the cookie will taste burnt.

Store in an air tight container.

Yield: I doubled the recipe and got about 10 dozen cookies
Would I Make This Again?Yes, the combination of cashew and dark chocolate covered rasins were in the words of my co-worker Alex, "brilliant". Next time I plan to make a normal sized recipe so that the chocolate covered raisins are better distributed in the dough. I have a few that were sans rasins. Oh and I think these are better 12 or so hours after they are baked. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Kara's Parent's 40th Anniversary Cake

Kara called me out of the blue about a month ago to ask me if I would make her parents a cake to help celebrate their 40th anniversary. They were coming to Seattle for a visit and as a surprise Kara and her brother Jay wanted to honor the milestone with a special cake and champagne toast in their hotel room. What an honor it was to be asked to make a cake to celebrate a 40th anniversary! I have to say I was more nervous making this cake than any cake I've ever made. Kara wanted something wedding-cakey but nothing too feminine. Plus she wanted each cake to be true to what it really was; no over-the-top decorating needed.

Since I didn't want any chocolate icing polluting the pristine carrot cake, separating the cakes in some way seemed like the best option. Stacking the cake was interesting and a bit challenging but I eventually figured it out. Initially. I wanted to use Styrofoam in between the cakes but to my shock it would have cost three times more than the price of the plastic columns! I had no idea Styrofoam was so expensive. In the end I think the cake looked a little cliche but at least it was stable.

The bottom layer was a classic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting which was Kara's mom's favorite. The cake came out better than any carrot cake I've ever made. I got the recipe from Spectacular Cakes by Mich Turner. It was incredibly moist and was filled with not only carrots, but unsweetened coconut, walnuts, rum-soaked golden raisins, and orange and lemon juices. The frosting was just a basic no-frills cream cheese frosting, however I did use clear vanilla extract to try to keep it as white as possible. Unfortunately I couldn't figure out a good way to steal a piece of it, but the crumbs I sampled were tasty! I think I'll be making this recipe again soon.

For the German Chocolate Cake, which was Kara's father's favorite, I used David Lebovitz's recipe. I had high expectations and I was not disappointed. The cake was very light and had a pleasant, not overwhelming cocoa flavor. The coconut-pecan filling was delectable but slightly more runny than I expected. As such, I didn't feel the need for the simple syrup and omitted it all together. My only complaint about his recipe for for his chocolate icing. Mine never solidified! It was a very runny, non-spreadable chocolate sauce that in no way resembled frosting. I don't know if there was something wrong with my ingredients or if he forgot an ingredient but something was off. Eventually I added about 8 cups of sifted powdered sugar and only then it finally got to the point where it resembled frosting. I had left over batter and made cupcakes with it. Much to the chagrin of my co-workers, my husband won the coin toss and brought them to work to share.

For the cake "40" cake topper I wanted something elegant and actually went to SEVEN different stores looking for something I could use. Can you believe I actually considered using house numbers I got so desperate? At one party supply store I explained to the sales girl that I wanted something tasteful and elegant and she claimed to have and I quote: "just the thing!". I felt like punching her when she brought me over to the birthday candles and showed me a bubbly, waxy, white, two-dollar number "4" and "0". I just starred at her and walked away without saying a word. Apparently being married forty years isn't long enough for anyone to give a flip. Grr! So I ended up just making it myself out of sugar paste. I liked the way it came out but I really wished I would have used red ink to trace out the numbers instead of black (this is what happens when you're making important decisions at 1am). I learned a pretty cool tip about painting sugar paste in a hurry - instead of using vodka or lemon extract to mix with the food coloring gel or powder, use grain alcohol or Everclear instead. Because it is so high in alcohol, it dries almost instantly. Seriously, it was evaporating faster than I could paint with it!

Kara's brother sent me a picture of the cake setup in the hotel room so I could see what it looked like. I think it was taken using a camera phone and the quality is a little grainy but I still think it looked handsome sitting on the table. Since they were married in the 1960s, I gave the photo a little '60 treatment just for fun. It looks so retro!
Although these cakes probably should not have been my test-bed for piping frosting and they weren't as perfect as I hoped, I think they came out pretty good and I think Kara would agree -- check out her text message:

and we have a winner!!

First of all, I want to thank everyone who entered! I am still in awe at how many entries I received. When I posted the contest I told my husband I predicted somewhere around 9 to 14 entries - but 40? Seriously?!

There were some very clever names that were suggested but the one that I loved the most was "Mocha Dot Chiller Brownies". Congratulations to Erin for her winning entry!

To everyone else that entered, thank you again for entering and making me laugh! Some of the entries are downright funny! Please check back often for the next contest. Based on the response I received, I plan on doing this again soon!

Erin's Mocha-dot Chiller brownies

*The contest is now closed*

Help! I need your naming skills! I made these brownies last night and I'm stumped for a name. The most creative name wins a Wilton Bite Sized Square Silicone Mold prize pack! This is the mold that I used create my cheesecake pops. To enter, please leave a comment below, but try to think of names that are really unique and catchy. The deadline is midnight PST July 17th. The winner will be selected by me and announced on July 18th.
Before you take a stab at naming them, you'll probably want to see another picture and know what's in these bad boys, huh? :-)

Here's the recipe:

Ganache
8 oz whipping cream
8 oz good quality semisweet chocolate, chopped (try to avoid chips if you can)

Brownies
1 19.8oz brownie mix
1 stick of melted butter
1 tablespoon dried coffee crystals, ground into a fine powder (I used Folgers and the bottom of a juice glass to grind it down)
1/2 cup of whipping cream
3 large eggs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used the mini ones)

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8 ounce package full fat cream cheese, softened
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-4 generous tablespoons of ganache (the amount is up to you)
1-2 tablespoons whipped cream
pinch of salt

Ganache
Chop the chocolate as evenly as you can and put it a heat-proof bowl. In a sauce pan, over medium-low heat slowly warm the whipped cream. Just when you start to see little tiny bubbles coming to the surface of the cream, turn off the heat and pour it over the chopped chocolate. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Then mix the cream and chocolate very slowly and gently. It will take a few minutes until the cream and chocolate combine into one satiny smooth puddle. Set it aside to cool on the counter (don't cover or chill it).

Brownies
Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly mist the bottom of a 13 by 9inch pan with veggie spray.

Combine the brownie mix, melted butter, cream, and eggs into a big mixing bowl. Stir everything together with a heavy spoon until all the ingredients are well combined. Pour the batter into a prepared pan, smoothing out the surface with a rubber spatula. Scatter the chocolate chips evenly over the surface of the batter and place the pan into the oven. Bake the brownies 20 minutes and cool completely for at least 30 minutes.

Frosting
Using the whisk attachment, whisk the cream cheese for a minute on medium high until light and fluffy. Add 2 tablespoons of the chocolate ganache into cream cheese and mix on medium speed until well blended, being sure to scrape the bowl once or twice. Taste it and if you want a more dramatic chocolate flavor, add another two heaping tablespoons to the mixture and mix again. Add salt. Slowly mix in the confectioners sugar. If the mixture gets too thick, add a tablespoon or two of whipping cream and beat on high until the frosting becomes a more spreadable consistency.

Assembly
Run a knife along the perimeter of the pan and invert the brownies onto a cooling rack. Place a platter or cake board on top of the inverted brownies and flip it over again so the chocolate chips are facing up.

Spread a thick layer of frosting over the top of the brownies. Try to smooth the surface as best you can.

For the big dots in the center of the brownies, I used a pastry bag with a number 10 tip and a number 4 tip for the smaller dots. However, if you don't have a pastry bag or tips, but you could easily use a zipper bag to create the dots by cutting off the corner of the bag. Or, you could just spread a layer of ganache over the chocolate frosting. Seriously, it's chocolate ganache...you can't really make a mistake with it :-)

I highly recommend storing the finished product into the fridge overnight. These tasted good when I first frosted them but after sitting in the fridge for several hours, the chocolate flavor got a lot more pronounced. They went from "pretty good" to "spectacular" overnight.

Yield: 15 good sized brownies, but as always, it's all in how you cut them.
Would I Make This Again: Oh yeah, these appealed to both the super chocolate fanatic and the beginner chocolate lover (like me). The chocolate cream cheese frosting was really wonderful. I would love to use this on something else. 4 out of 5 stars.

Scott's "Forty Is the New Thirty" Brownie Stack

Scott is my next door neighbor and has been for the last five and a half years. I can't recall a time when I have see him without a big smile on his face. He's just a happy go lucky guy! Usually when I do see him, he's outside in the street playing games with his kids, which always warms my heart. You just don't see that very often anymore! Scott's a great neighbor, a loving husband, and super devoted dad; so when I found out it was his 40th birthday, I couldn't wait to make him something as fabulous as he is.

When I asked him what he wanted, he said he liked chocolate, strawberries, and bananas. I had a few recipes to work with but eventually decided to take the best of both and invent something new. This is what I came up with. It's got everything: brownies, cheesecake, chocolate whipped cream, strawberries, bananas, and chocolate!

"Forty Is The New Thirty Brownie" Stack

Brownies
1 package (19.8 ounce) fudge brownie mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
3 large eggs, at room temperature, whisked together in a bowl
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (I used mini chips but normal sized should work too)

Cheesecake
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Whipped Cream
1 pint heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons sugar

Filling and Toppings
1/2 cup strawberry preserves
1 pint fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, and sliced lengthwise
1 medium firm banana, sliced
1 oz semisweet chocolate curls (optional) I use a vegie peeler and a small block of chocolate


Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the bottom of a jelly roll pan (I used one that was 16 1/2 by 11 1/2 by 1 inch) with wax or parchment paper. Fold the paper in half (like a book) and make a sharp crease in the paper (this will come in handy later then you need to cut the brownie in half). Lay the paper into the jellyroll pan, butter the paper and lightly dust with flour (or use Pam with Flour -- I love it!). Put the mixer bowl and whisk (or beaters) into the fridge to chill.

In another large bowl, combine the brownie mix, oil, water, eggs, and chocolate chips and stir with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients are incorporated, roughly 50 strokes. Pour the batter into the pan and smooth it out with a rubber spatula. Place it into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla until combined. Spread over brownie and bake 10-12 minutes longer or until topping is set and dry looking. Cool on a wire rack. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Sift the cocoa and powdered sugar together. Remove the whisk/beaters, bowl, and cream from the fridge. Pour the cream into the bowl and whisk on the highest setting for 1 minute (I like to put a kitchen towel over the mixer and bowl to avoid splattering). When the mixture just starts to look like it's getting thick, add the cocoa and sugar and continue whipping for another 1-3 minutes until the whipped cream gets thick and stiff peaks form. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill.

When the brownies are cool, put the strawberry preserves into a microwave save dish and heat on high for 30 seconds. Pour the strawberries over the surface and spread as best you can. If you don't have enough to cover the entire surface of the pan just heat a little more of the preserves and repeat the process.

Now it's time to assemble it!* Remember the crease you made in the parchment paper earlier? Use it as your guide to cut the brownie in half. Be sure to cut all the way down, through the waxed paper. Place half of the brownie on a serving platter, dish, or cake board (be sure to remove the waxed paper). Cover with a layer of strawberries and then cover with thinly sliced banana. Use the entire banana on this layer ( you don't need to save any for the top layer because it will turn brown and look unsightly). Top the strawberries and bananas with 3/4 of the whipped cream. Next, place the second half of the brownie on top. This is where it gets a little tricky.. there is no right or wrong way to put the top layer of brownie on top. I flipped it over so the cheesecake layer was pointing down and the flat bottom was facing up, however, if layering it cheesecake side up is easier for you, go for it. I just found it easier to flip it. Top this layer with the remaining chocolate whipped cream, strawberries, and if you want, chocolate curls.

*If you're not in a hurry you can place the brownies (lightly wrapped in foil) into the freezer to firm up for up to 30 minutes. This will make it easier to assemble if the pieces are slightly frozen. You can also cut the brownie into thirds or even quarters and make the stack even higher. It's totally up to you!

Yield: Depending on large you cut the slices, you could easily serve 16 or more.
Would I Make This Again: Yes! It sounds really complicated but it was easy to whip together. It's also fairly economical to make and feeds a lot of people so I could see making this for a BBQ or potluck (providing you can keep it cold). It will hold up to room temperature for about and hour. If you wanted it to last longer you could use chocolate flavored Cool Whip instead of the whipped cream but you will sacrifice some of the flavor. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Chloe's Dance Party Cake

I don't think I've ever been so excited to post about a cake before. I am so proud of this cake! I volunteered to make it for my friend's daughter's sixth birthday. I had been planning it for the last few weeks and it was just rewarding to see it come to life. I think I probably went a little overboard, but you only turn six once!

This is my second attempt working with fondant and it went a lot better this time. For one, I used different brand which tasted absolutely delicious. I also took my time and read up on techniques a bit before I got started. I still have a lot to learn, but I'll get there. I plan to take a few classes soon, I just need to just sign up.

The speakers, cake, and cupcakes were made of chocolate cake, filled with vanilla pastry cream. They were topped with a thin coat of milk chocolate ganache and a basic vanilla buttercream I spray painted with Witon Color Mist spray (totally fun!). The dancers were made out of gum paste that I created using clip art that I cut out and used as a stencil. I traced each one with an edible ink marker and eventually painted them with food coloring gel thinned with vodka.



The look on Chloe's face made all the work totally worth it. I think I may have spoiled her a bit. Can you imagine what her wedding cake will look like?! :-) I got a little carried away taking pictures. Check out the lot of them here, or just sit back and watch the show!



Resources

• Fondant I used: Satin Ice


• Chocolate Cake Recipe: Recipe courtesy Elisa Strauss, Confetti Cakes


• Cupcake Frosting: Wilton's Buttercream Frosting (I used half the milk though)


• Pastry Cream: Bon Appétit, February 1998


• Gel Food Coloring: Country Kitchen Sweetart

From Hellas with Love: Baklava

Ever since I was in kindergarten, I wished I was Greek. My mom, my sister, and my sister's boyfriend all worked at the same Greek restaurant and they made the BEST Greek food. The owners had a daughter my age and we were best friends. I spent a lot of time over her house and loved being surrounded by her Greek culture. Her Yaya (grandma) lived directly behind her and she was the sweetest woman! She made the most delicious avgolemeno soup I have ever had. I wanted a Yaya of my own so badly that one of my mom's good friends let me call her Yaya -- and I still do, a good 25 years later!

As luck would have it, almost twelve years ago I had an opportunity to live in Greece. It was a life changing experience in many ways. I learned a lot about who I was and where I was in my life, and what I wanted to do next. It was not always pretty but I wouldn't trade that year for the world.

Since I had no car when I lived there I would walk for hours every day around town, each day going a little further. It was on these walks that I would find the most AMAZING bakeries. Not just Greek, but French too (I'll save those bakeries for a future post). It was at the Greek bakeries that I was introduced to a new level of Greek desserts. True, I had a lot of desserts at my best friend's house and at the restaurant, but nothing like this! I ate galaktomboureko (milk pie), loukoumades (honey puffs), moustalevria (Greek wine pudding), and my favorite, baklava. Buttery, sticky, layers of honey almond (or other nut) goodness. I would eat it several times a week. At one particular bakery, I befriended a few of the people that worked there; and when it was time for me to return home, they gave me a loosely translated cookbook chock full of Greek recipes. Here's one of them, word for word:

Baklava

500 grams phyllo dough (1/2 package of phyllo dough)
800 grams almond meats, coarsely and evenly chopped (this is roughly equivilent to 1 lb 12 oz of whole, raw, unsalted almonds. I run 1 cup at a time on the coarsest setting in the blender. You want them evently ground but not to the point where it comes almond flour.)
2 tablespoons cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 cups of unsalted butter, melted
1 cup honey
juice of one lemon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups water

Mix the almond meats with the cinnamon and cloves. Butter a baking and line it with 4 phyllo sheets, brushing each one with melted butter. Sprinkle on a little of the filling, add two more buttered sheets of dough, and continue in the same way, leaving 4 sheets of dough for the last layer. Cut into diamond shaped pieces, down to the bottom of the baklava. Pour the rest of the butter over the top and bake in a moderate oven for 40-45 minutes. (Okay, so I have no idea what "moderate oven" means. I have made this at 300F and baked it for 40-45 minutes and it wasn't ready, however I baked it an additional 20 minutes and it was great.)

Place the sugar, honey, 1 1/2 cups water, the vanilla and the lemon juice in a pan and boil for 5-6 minutes. Skim off any foam that forms and pour the hot syrup over the lukewarm baklava. (Note: it will look like you're completely submerging the baklava, but its a sponge and will drink it all up! I promise!). Serve cold.

Yield: I make this in 9x13 pan and get about 20-30 slices. It's all in how you cut it.
Would I Make This Again? I think the answer to that is clear! This is in my top 10 all time favorite recipes, ever, ever, ever! 5 out of 5 stars.